Statesmen Take Title in Final Regular Season Tournament
Waukee–The William Penn shotgun sports team is heading into nationals with a full head of steam as it crushed the competition at the Simpson Invitational last Saturday and Sunday.
WPU was first out of 11 teams by hitting 1,581 targets out of a total 1,750. Simpson was a distant second at 1,492.
The Statesmen swept every possible category, beginning with the Trap discipline. WPU took the top three spots, including Mathew Brindley (So., Earlham, Iowa, Industrial Technology) leading the standings at 99-for-100. Colten Uitermarkt (Grad., Otley, Iowa, Master’s of Organizational Leadership) and Allison Fulp (Fr., Anderson, Ind., Elementary Education) tied for second at 98-for-100 (Uitermarkt won the shoot-off for second).
Hunter Block (Jr., Eldridge, Iowa, Business Management) and KayLynn Sieber (So., Marshall, Minn., Biology) wrapped up the squad’s scoring at 97-for-100.
Dominick Ver Meer (Jr., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) was then victorious in the Sporting Clays discipline at 88-for-100, while Uitermarkt and Russell Malterud (Grad., North Branch, Minn., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) shared runner-up honors at 87-for-100.
Brindley was next at 84-for-100, while Noah Seelye (So., Pella, Iowa, Mechanical Engineering) and Carter Van Zee (Fr., Pella, Iowa, Industrial Technology) also got on the board as each individual was 80-for-100.
The Statesmen kept rolling, claiming the Skeet trophy with Bryon Baca (Grad., Colorado Springs, Colo., Master’s of Organizational Leadership) heading the way at 98-for-100. Uitermarkt ended up in the bronze position at 97-for-100. Brindley missed just three times as well, while Van Zee and Malterud finished at 95-for-100.
To complete the sweep of the disciplines, Noah DeBoef (So., Leighton, Iowa, Industrial Technology) won (via shoot-off) the Super Sporting battle at 43-for-50. Block’s 42-for-50 was next for the navy and gold, while Sieber, Uitermarkt, and Cade Bowie (Fr., Benton, Ark., Business Management) all recorded 41-for-50 efforts.
Uitermarkt was the High Overall Athlete at 323-for-350 with Brindley right behind him in second at 321-for-350.
Sieber guided the female shooters at 306-for-350, while teammate Raylee Bishop (So., Ankeny, Iowa, Civil Engineering) garnered the silver at 299-for-350.
“Even with the weather conditions and not shooting to our potential, we still had a great showing,” Head Coach Steve Heaton said. “This just proves to us that we can compete at a very high level in all conditions.”
Next Up: William Penn travels to Las Vegas, Nev. from March 13-19 to compete in NCSSAA Nationals.
